Est. 1998
Interview With Prince Jackson
Prince Michael Jackson has recently featured in an article by the Los Angeles Times. In the interview he says he can’t sing or dance but is following in his father’s footsteps. At the age of nineteen, he’s prepared to set his own course, one that honors his father.
Prince was interviewed at Hayvenhurst, in Encino.
“Everyone thinks I’m going to do music and dance,” he says, laughing, because, as he is the first to admit, he cannot do either. Prince says he’s interested in producing entertainment, but from behind the scenes. Earlier this year he produced his first music video, for Omer “O-Bee” Bhatti’s ‘Automatic,’ and used it to launch King’s Son Productions. Another video, for the Sco Triplets, soon followed.
“Music is a big part of my life,” he says. “It shaped who I am because of my family, but I’ve always wanted to go into production. My dad would ask me what I wanted to do and my answer was always producing and directing.”
Prince speaks of his father with fondness as he moves past iconic imagery and celebrity photos that adorn the walls of Hayvenhurst’s walls. A marble plaque on entry of Hayvenhurst’s photo room reads; “Hopefully this journey into the past, in picturesque form, will be a stimulant to create a brighter successful tomorrow.”
“To me, these are family photos. It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s a picture of my dad and my godmother,’” Prince says, pointing to an image of his father with Elizabeth Taylor. “I think people appreciate it a lot more than I do. To me, these are family photos.”
According to the interviewer, Prince doesn’t have the bravado you often encounter in celebrity children raised with a level of privilege, fame and wealth, nor does he seem naïve, particularly when it comes to how he plans on navigating an industry his father spent years warning him about. “Trust no one,” his father once cautioned. “It sounds bad, but a lot of people are motivated by themselves,” Prince says. “He said don’t trust someone just because it sounds like a good idea. Do your research. There are a lot of people who want to interact with me and my siblings just because of who we are.”
He explained that Hayvenhurst is a “sacred place” for him adding that it wasn’t just because it was rich in family history, but because it is where he and his siblings came to live to be raised by their grandmother after their father’s death.
“It was beneficial. There were sixteen people here,” he explained, listing cousins and relatives who occupied the estate after Michael’s death. “It took you away from the grief. We’d wake up in the middle of the night, make quesadillas and talk.”
“After he died, we got bombarded with everything,” Prince says. “Everything!”
Prince then explains how he understood the choices his father made for them when he was alive.
“My dad spoke to me like an adult. He told us the reason for the masks was he wanted us to have our own life without him. I don’t think I ever thought about if other kids lived like that when I was younger. But once I
knew who he was, I realised it wasn’t normal.”
“I remember being in Disneyland and I went to the window and there were all these fans waving and taking pictures of me. I thought it was normal, so I just waved back. It wasn’t until I saw a video of him performing and people were fainting and passing out, when I realised the work he did meant a lot to people.”
Prince is now committed to jujitsu and it’s one of the ways he’s found helps him cope with the loss of his father. “I don’t think it’s anything you ever get over. It’s always going to be a part of your life that’s missing,” P{rince explained. “The way I cope with it is incorporating him into my life in every way, from my company logo having little bits of him, to using his metaphors and trying to follow everything he taught us. My brother and my sister, we’ve all coped differently. I’ve gotten better the older I get.”
He remembers Michael proudly showing him ‘Thriller’ and ‘Moonwalker’ and the two would also spend afternoons binge-watching films and dissecting them. The James Bond series and horror were among shared favorites. They would also watch epics like ‘King Kong’ and ‘Lord of the Rings.’ Prince then explained how he felt when he watched ‘This Is It.’
“That’s when I knew it was what I wanted to do.” He remembered. “I loved the thrill of it. I was able to talk to so many people on set, those doing the lighting or the assistant cameramen. I learned so much.”
“I’m just going with the flow. I’m still young, my ideas can change,” Prince added. “I can never be separated from my father. He set that big of an example, and I don’t really have a problem with that. I’m proud to have his name and to be his son.”
To read the full interview, please click here.
Source: Los Angeles Times Entertainment & MJWN
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